Diarrhea and vomiting in an adult: how to treat, detailed information

Upset stomach, bowel problems - this can happen to anyone at any time. No one is immune from the manifestations of diarrhea and vomiting, which are the first to signal the beginning of the disease process. Sometimes these symptoms are accompanied by fever, but most often the body temperature remains at a normal level, but the patient's well-being is very poor. It is impossible to exist normally, work, communicate. A person becomes irritable, because the painful and unpleasant sensations experienced are quite strong and bring negativity.

Why diarrhea does not go away on its own

It is not customary to consult a doctor if you have nausea and diarrhea. Most patients believe that everything "will pass by itself." And this is true, but only if there is a mild food poisoning. In this case, the body needs only a little help to cleanse itself of toxins, and it will be able to restore its work. But the cause of diarrhea and vomiting may not only be food poisoning, although it is it that is in the first place in an extensive list of causes.

Important! Any poisoning or infection that can also cause diarrhea must be treated. And, in order not to harm the body with the consequences, it is necessary to recover after each case until the end, completely getting rid of the virus and cleansing the body of microbes. Otherwise, the latent infection will undermine the internal organs until it leads to their chronic disease.

Even if the symptoms of diarrhea disappear on their own, after a few days of torment, they will not go away without a trace. You will remain with irritation of the internal mucous membranes and esophagus, intoxication, weakness, dehydration, and it is possible that an infection that caused an attack of diarrhea lurks in the body in order to manifest again yourself later.

Therefore, even if it seems to you that diarrhea and nausea are going away, and you are able to get rid of this trouble without drugs, it is better not to rely on the endurance of your body (whose forces are not unlimited), but help his. Fortunately, today there are enough means to get rid of diarrhea without a trace, whatever it may be.

What does diarrhea indicate?

First of all, it is worth noting that diarrhea, as well as the state of nausea, the urge to vomit and, in fact, vomiting is not a disease, but just symptoms. Thus, the body draws attention to itself, warning that something has happened that requires intervention.

Food poisoning

The first and most widespread cause is food poisoning. The patient has consumed a product or drink that has expired and has poisoned the body with harmful bacteria that have multiplied in this product. It may turn out that this is not about the shelf life - the product itself was bad (high content of toxins, conditionally edible mushroom, poisonous berry, and so on). Another possibility of food poisoning is poor-quality cooking. The product can also be simply dirty, if you have not washed the fruit properly, then it will be eaten along with all the microbes present on its surface.

By the way. And one more, not the least important reason - abuse, for example, alcohol. This is also food poisoning, although the alcohol-containing drink itself does not pose a danger (if only this is not sour, fermented wine), but in doses exceeding the capabilities of the body, it must will poison.

Rotavirus

This diagnosis is also voiced as intestinal flu. It is caused by rotavirus and is therefore easily transmitted through the air. The temperature may well be present at the same time, even quite high, but also intestinal flu can pass absolutely without temperature, but with violent vomiting and complete indigestion.

By the way. Intestinal flu is a disease so dangerous and leaves such severe consequences for the body that it is most often treated in a hospital.

Drug poisoning

Believe it or not, it happens much more often than many believe, almost as often as food poisoning. Everything happens due to the fact that citizens at all times have loved and love to self-medicate. Why go to the doctor when you can buy an over-the-counter drug, take it, and heal without the hassle. As a result of the uncontrolled use of drugs, violation of dosages and the intake of erroneous drugs, drug poisoning occurs, which causes the same symptoms as food poisoning.

Advice. Nausea and diarrhea, indicating a violation of gastrointestinal functions, are only the first manifestations of drug poisoning. Therefore, if you feel this kind of discomfort after taking any medication unauthorized by your doctor, be sure to go for medical help or call a doctor at home.

Here, in terms of complexity and hazard class, chemical poisoning, including household poisoning, can also be attributed.

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

A whole list of diseases that occur in the gastrointestinal tract has exactly the same symptoms as food or other poisoning. In any case, the patient experiences vomiting and diarrhea along with other accompanying symptoms of these diseases.

Table. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause diarrhea and vomiting.

Disease	Additional symptoms
Gastritis	Plus to constant nausea and upset stools, heartburn, pain in the stomach, pressure changes and a general feeling of weakness occur.
Pancreatitis	With this disease, vomiting and pain surrounding the lower torso are added.
Gastroduodenitis	Gives a feeling of heaviness throughout the abdomen, pain radiating to its upper part, heartburn and general weakness.
Enterocolitis	Constant severe weakness is felt, and abundant mucous impurities or blood can be observed in the liquefied stool.
Intestinal dysbiosis	Pain in the lower body, swelling of the gastrointestinal parts, food is not absorbed, not digested.

By the way. In some people, reactions such as diarrhea and vomiting can cause inflammation of the intestines or stomach, which is the body's response to stress. That is, diarrhea, accompanied by nausea, may be the result of anxiety or nervous shock.

What to do for diarrhea and nausea

It is important, as soon as a person discovers this state in himself, to immediately orient himself and, without waiting for a more vivid manifestation symptoms (or in the hope that "it will pass by itself"), try to cleanse the body of toxic substances with which it thus begins fight.

Of course, if you experience diarrhea and nausea, you should see your doctor. But while the called medical aid is traveling (if there is an acute poisoning or the patient knows that the reason is medicines, berries, mushrooms, plants, chemicals and other poisons), or you yourself go to the clinic, rinse stomach.

First aid for the stomach

Gastric lavage is a procedure that an adult can do independently at home. Especially if nausea is present in the presence of diarrhea and probable food or other poisoning, but the patient does not vomit.

This will require a large amount of water, one of the following components:

• salt;
• potassium permanganate;
• soda.

1. Water is taken in an amount of at least five liters, strictly at room temperature. A solution is made from it, using one of the above means. Salt is prepared in the proportion of two tablespoons for the entire volume of water. Soda - the same. As for potassium permanganate, it is difficult to dose in grams or spoons, but a certain amount of crystals is enough for the solution to acquire a light pink, not saturated color. All crystals, especially manganese crystals, must be thoroughly stirred before dissolving, so as not to cause a burn to the mucous membrane.
   

   The approximate color of the potassium permanganate solution for washing

2. The patient must be arranged so that the head is below the level of the torso - this will prevent the penetration of returnable vomit products into the respiratory tract.
   

   Clear your airways

   

   Help the person get into a comfortable position. Poison in the body can cause seizures, so it is important to avoid injury

   

   Lay the poisoned one on its side

3. Then the patient is given the first portion of the solution in the amount of half a liter.
4. Immediately after this, if spontaneous vomiting has not begun within five minutes, it should be induced by pressing the base of the tongue with a spoon.
   

   How to induce vomiting

5. The process is repeated until the water expelled by the patient from the stomach is clear.
   

   Contraindications to gastric lavage

Measures against dehydration

You still, despite all the warnings about the need for medical attention, decided to ignore them and deal with diarrhea on your own. You washed out your stomach, if possible, cleansed it of toxins, and now you are wondering what medicines for diarrhea you can take.

Important! Before sending your family to the pharmacy or taking out your home medicine cabinet, be aware that if diarrhea occurs with nausea or vomiting, even in the absence of fever, last more than three days, you need to go to the doctor necessarily.

Before starting treatment for the manifestations of diarrhea, care must be taken to restore the body's water balance. It is seriously disturbed by both diarrhea and the process of exodus of vomit. Both of them take the water he needs from the body. Therefore, with the onset of diarrhea, you must immediately take measures against dehydration, which will certainly come, and much sooner than you think.

Advice. Drink plenty of fluids every twenty minutes in small doses, somewhere around 150 ml. It can be water or tea, herbal decoction or berry juice, dried fruit compote.

Reception of enterosorbents

The next step to getting rid of vomiting and diarrhea and their consequences is enterosorbents. This is a wide group of medicinal substances that contain active ingredients that have the ability to getting inside the gastrointestinal tract to absorb and deactivate toxic substances, being excreted along with them in the process defecation. There are natural enterosorbents and those created in medical laboratories.

Table. Enterosorbents and their characteristics.

A drug	Description
Activated carbon	The drug is the most popular and commonly used, besides, its price is low, which also contributes to its demand. In case of food poisoning with drugs, gases, poisons, accompanied by diarrhea, charcoal is given in the amount of a tablet per 10 kg of the patient's weight. The drug belongs to the class of non-toxic, but its disadvantage is that if you take it for longer than a week, it causes mechanical irritation to the intestinal mucous membranes. Also, unlike more modern forms of sorbents, coal does not have a destructive effect on the pathogenic flora of the intestine.
"Enterosgel"	Its antitoxic effect is much higher than that of activated carbon. It also regenerates irritated mucous membranes and deactivates pathogenic flora, removing, along with feces, all decay substances. Even with long-term use, the drug is effective. It creates an environment for the formation of beneficial intestinal flora. A medicine is taken to eliminate the consequences of all types of poisoning, including alcohol.
"Smecta"	Another drug, the name of which has become a household name for people who often suffer from diarrhea. The drug is effective and versatile. He is able to stop diarrhea quickly, including those arising from nerves ("traveler's" diarrhea). The drug is effective in combining diarrhea with vomiting. It is important that smecta is not drunk at the same time as other medications. also, do not continue the continuous course of treatment with smecta for more than a week.
"Neosmectin"	Has an innovative structure. Without affecting intestinal motility, it successfully inactivates toxins and absorbs excess fluid that accumulates in the digestive tract during diarrhea. Reception longer than a week is not recommended.
"Polysorb"	This drug will also help eliminate diarrhea quickly. This is a safe enterosorbent, which acts several tens of times more effective than the usual activated carbon. The drug eliminates not only the symptom, but also the cause of diarrhea, if it lies in poisoning with food or other toxins. The drug can be taken by all categories of patients, including pregnant women and infants.
"Lignin"	It is a natural sorbent extracted from coniferous trees. For any manifestations of diarrhea resulting from food or chemical poisoning, you can take the drug in for a short time, since long-term use negatively affects the mucous membrane and can cause constipation. Already existing ulcers and inflammation of the mucous membrane are a contraindication to its use.

In addition to drugs, enterosorbents are found in many products that we eat. These are fruits and algae (pectin), bran and vegetables containing coarse dietary fiber. Any purification of the body with sorbents, both natural and synthesized, must be carried out under the supervision and on the recommendation of a doctor.

Taking probiotics

In order to reanimate the intestines and normalize its work, after cleaning and removing toxins, drugs are needed that can restore the microflora. These drugs are probiotics.

They are made from living microorganisms (beneficial microbes), which, inhabiting the human body, form colonies that actively resist pathogenic microorganisms (harmful microbes). In the case of diarrhea cure, the ability of probiotics to modify metabolic processes within the intestine is important.

Table. Probiotic preparations and their characteristics.

Name	Properties
"Bifidumbacterin"	It contains dry, but capable of activity, bifidobacteria, which are introduced into the intestinal flora. The dosage form can be different, from capsules to powders. This drug is not recommended to be taken at the same time with antibiotics and washed down / diluted with hot water.
"Lactobacterin"	Here the role of bifidobacteria is played by lactobacilli. They quickly and effectively restore the intestinal microflora and, after suffering diarrhea, normalize the digestive and defecation process. The drug is not prescribed for lactose intolerance and for patients diagnosed with candidiasis.
"Linex"	A very popular antidiarrheal agent that can almost instantly normalize the intestinal microflora. It combines lacto-, bifidobacteria and enterococci. It is forbidden to take the drug with alcohol and eat hot food or drink hot drinks.
"Khilak Forte"	Here, biologically synthesized lactic acid has a destructive effect on pathogenic microbes. It grows beneficial bacteria, improving gastric and intestinal secretion. It can be taken for a long time for chronic diarrhea.

Fermented preparations

This group of medicinal substances contains special enzymes that slow down peristalsis and thereby normalize the stool. Drugs in this group are prescribed exclusively by a doctor.

Table. Medicines that slow down peristalsis.

A drug	Description
"Imodium"	It contains loperamide, which blocks opioid receptors. This reduces the frequency of undulating contractions of the rectal walls and eliminates non-infectious diarrhea.
"Loperamide"	A drug with the same active substance, in addition to reducing intestinal motility, normalizes the tone of the anal sphincter, weakened by diarrhea.
"Enterobene"	A symptomatic drug with the same active ingredient as the previous two. Retains feces, thickens them and helps the patient to have less urge to defecate. The medicine has a number of significant contraindications, including childhood, pregnancy and gastrointestinal infections.
"Phtalazol"	This sulfa drug is also indicated for infectious diarrhea. It successfully suppresses the spread of pathogenic microflora in the intestines and eliminates diarrhea within 2-3 days. The remedy has side effects and contraindications. It should not be taken without a medical prescription.

As for antibiotics prescribed for diarrhea, their use is advisable only if the disease is of an infectious nature. Along with taking antibiotic drugs, you must definitely take probiotic ones. And all this is done strictly on the recommendation of a doctor.

Traditional methods

Traditional medicine can also help official drug therapy in the treatment of diarrhea. The process includes the use of herbal medicines in the form of decoctions, infusions, herbal teas.

1. Ripe walnut partitions filled with water and boiled for about a quarter of an hour over low heat. A tablespoon of raw materials is consumed for half a liter of water. This broth is drunk throughout the entire process of curing diarrhea, 170 ml per day.
   

   Ripe walnut partitions

2. Rye rusks soaked in warm water. 200 g is enough per liter. The water should not be hot. After 20 minutes, the mass can be squeezed out, and the remaining infusion can be drunk within 12 hours in portions of 200 ml.
   

   Rye rusks

3. Wormwood for the treatment of diarrhea, it can be infused with vodka, but it is safer (since alcohol tinctures can not be taken by everyone) to prepare a water broth. One teaspoon of raw materials is brewed with a glass of liquid. The resulting medication is taken throughout the day.
   

   Wormwood

4. Herbal tea made from the collection of stems and leaves of sage and linden blossom. You can add some dried raspberries to them. Drink a glass of tea several times a day, each time brewing a fresh drink.
   

   Sage tea

5. Rice broth, perhaps the most popular and well-known remedy. For its preparation, a glass of rice groats is filled with water in a double volume. All this is boiled for several minutes, and then the liquid is drained and taken half a glass every 3-4 hours.
   

   Making rice water

6. Oak bark has the same effect as walnut partitions. It helps very well with diarrheal exacerbations, since it is the most powerful of the herbal remedies. A pinch of pharmaceutical raw materials is filled with water, in a volume of about 250 ml. Everything is boiled for 7-8 minutes. Reception is carried out with tablespoons - two to four times a day.
   

   Oak bark

7. St. John's wort decoction will also help slow down motor skills and relieve inflammation. Traditionally, a tablespoon is boiled in a glass of water. Take a decoction of a third of a glass four times a day.
   

   St. John's wort decoction

Diet

And, of course, effective disposal of diarrhea is impossible without changing the diet and introducing a special diet. First of all, it is worth noting that at the time of the onset of diarrhea, accompanied by vomiting, nothing can be eaten at all. This is strictly prohibited until the stomach is completely emptied. Usually this process takes about a day, depending on the origin of the diarrhea and the degree of intoxication of the body. During these days, you are only allowed to drink liquid.

Then you can gradually introduce the following foods, which should be divided into small portions:

• baked apples;
• applesauce;
• bananas;
• natural yogurt;
• boiled chicken and beef;
• boiled fish;
• cereals boiled in water;
• eggs (except for the cooking method - scrambled eggs);
• any boiled vegetables, except beets, including soups;
• crackers.

It is also imperative to use black tea, herbal tea, dried fruit decoctions (except dried apricots and prunes), lingonberry and cranberry compotes, fruit drinks, jelly.

Important! At the time of recovery of the body after suffering diarrhea, you can salt dishes well. Salt helps prevent dehydration by retaining fluid in the body.

It is necessary to refrain, until complete recovery, from the following products:

• milk and everything that is produced from it;
• nuts and legumes;
• fresh bread;
• confectionery;
• sweets;
• coffee;
• raw vegetables;
• raw fruits;
• carbonated drinks.

Also, you can not use smoked meats, spices and marinades that irritate the stomach. Food should not be fried, but rather boiled or cooked with a double boiler.

The diet should not be abandoned immediately after the diarrhea stops, but should be followed for another two weeks so that the work of the stomach and intestines finally returns to normal.

Diarrhea is not a disease. Nausea and upset stools are not diseases. But these are symptoms of many diseases, and not just poisoning with stale food, as many believe. With the onset of diarrhea, if your stool is disturbed, you feel nauseous, and the general state of health is not at the highest level, even with the absence of high temperature indicators, take measures to help your body to normalize digestive process. The digestive system is one of the most important human organs, on the good work of which the level of his health depends.

Video - Treatment of diarrhea